Resuscitator mask



United States Patent 3,136,312 6/1964 Gattone.......................

3,392,724 7/1968 Cowley Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Richard W. Diaz, Jr.

AttorneyGeorge A. Rolston ABSTRACT: This specification describes an oxygen breathing mask device, suitable either for incorporation in a single package with a small pressure vessel, or which may alternatively be used with only minor modifications in conjunction with a separate somewhat larger source of oxygen, or other gas, the mask assembly being formed with concertina side walls to permit the same to be collapsed when not in use, and to be expanded to provide a relatively substantial container for oxygen at low pressure, and which incorporates a face mask at one end of the container and which also incorporates means for attaching conduits thereto so as to permit the container to be used as a pump, the oxygen or other gas being delivered through such conduits to a further mask and further describes the use ofa particularly advantageous tubular pressure vessel and pressure reducing outlet means and quick release sealing means.

Lothar Miczka Marl, Westphalia, Germany 691,354 Dec. 18, 1967 By mesne assignments, to Abbott Laboratories, a corporation of Illinois References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1963 R1ehards 10/1963 Paramelle.....................

[72] Inventor [21] Appl. No.

[22] Filed [45] Patented Sept. 29, 1970 [73] Assignee [54] RESUSCITATOR MASK 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[50] Field ofSearch............................................

Patented Sept. 29, 1970 INVENTOR.

LOTHAR MICZKA Aqent Patented Sept. 29, 1970 INVENTOR. LOTHAR M ICZKA 'IIII'I'III FIG?) Agent RESUSCITATOR MASK This invention relates to a breathing mask for resuscitators andthelike of the type which are used for injuredor sick persons who are unconscious and eithervbreathing only with difficulty or who have stopped breathing altogether. Various forms of apparatus are available for use by doctors, nurses, emergency workers, and others for attempting to revive injured or sick persons by resuscitation. Such equipment is usuallyof great-complexity and high cost with the result that it is only available in such locations as hospitals, ambulances and the like, and'has not achieved wide distribution with individual doctors or in other emergency locations such as swimming poolsand public parkson the one hand, or in industrial locationswhere accidental electrical shock or other form of injury where resuscitation techniques may be beneficial. In addition, the equipment available up to the present time has been difficult to use, requiring a certain amount of training'and skill.

It hasbeen proposed to provide portable hand-held oxygen dispensing devices providing'both resuscitatorand inhalator action, incorporating a tubular pressure vessel comprising a length of tubing wound upon itself, and having easily breakable meanssealingonc end of the tube and incorporating flowmetering means, and a mask which fits around the face of the user. A somewhatlarger version of a similar device is carried in a small carrying case and incorporates gauges and flowregulating means, and a flexible hose having a mask connectable 'at itsfree end, pe'rmittingthe same to be used over a greater length of time in the case of a patient who istotally incapacitated. Such devices are described in US. Pat. No. 3,392,724 assigned to Therapeutic Research Corporation Limitedf In the case of both types of apparatus however, it is desirable to provide a face mask whichcan be compressedinto a small space for storage and which is instantly ready for use, on the one hand, and on the other hand, and'oxygen accumulator .bag, for accumulating low pressure oxygenas it escapes from the pressure vessel in sufficient volume to permit the patient to completely fill his lungs at one breath. In addition, for the sake of economy, it is desirablethat the face mask and oxygen accumulator should'be combinedinto a single unit, and should preferably be such that a large number of parts thereof will be substantiallyinterchangeable for use on either unit. Furthermore, in somecases, it is desirable to provide for a resuscitator action of the unit, whereby apatient who is unconscious may be supplied withoxygen at a low positive'pressure whereby to force the oxygen into hislungs. According to the present invention, such resuscitator action may advantageously be incorporatcd in the-design'of the mask and oxygen accumulator so that it mayalso serve as a pump if required.

It is'therefore .an objective of the present invention to provide a mask foruse with an oxygen breathing system which is of simple, reliable construction, which is collapsible for storage and is instantly ready for use at anytime, and which defines a substantial storage volume for accumulation of oxygen at breathing pressures, and which may also in some circumstances be used to providea pumping action.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a mask having the foregoing advantages which is "formed with a bellows system and wherein the bellows are arranged in a tapering configuration so as to permit the same to be stored flat.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a mask device incorporating a spring means there within expanding the same and permitting'thc same to be used as'a pump if required.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide amask member which is adapted for free inhalation by a patient who is conscious, and is also provided with inlet and outlet valve means permitting the same to be used with a pumping action, and means for attaching the same to an oxy'gen hose ifdesired.

- More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a mask member having the foregoing advantages in which the several parts thereof are adaptable for use both as a mask and oxygen accumulator and also as a pump, without substantial alteration.

The foregoing and other advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is now given by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings in which like reference devices refer to like parts thereof throughout the various views and diagrams in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration partially cut away to reveal the construction, showing an oxygen inhalator incorporating a mask member according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the mask member showing theportion adapted to engage the face, and also showing a further modification of the inhalator device which may be incorporated in some cases;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged sectional view of a portion of the inhalator as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration showing the use of the mask as a pumping unit.

Referring now to FIGS. I and 2, it will be seen that'the invention comprises an oxygen high pressure storage vessel consisting of a length of tube 10 wound upon itself into a doughnut-shaped configuration to provide a sufficient volume for storage of oxygen at approximately 5,000 p.s.i. so as to insure delivery of an adequate volume for a period of about 20 minutes in the preferred case. Filling of the tube 10 is accomplished through pipe 11 which, after filling, is sealed at 12, a sufficient length of pipe 11 being exposed from one end of tube 10 to permit the same tobe refilled and rescaled several times. At the other end of tube 10 there is provided afurth er pipe 13 for permitting metered release of oxygen from tube 10. The metering means consists of a capillary tube identified as reference 14 .(shown in more detail in FIG. 4.). Capillary tube 14 is sealed with solder at 15 and is provided with a looped portion 16 and adjacent weakened neck portion 17 to permit the same to be readily broken thereby releasing the oxygen at a metered-flow rate. Coiled tube l0is contained within a plastic housing 18 closed by a recessed closure member 19 provided with a series of perforations 20 therein permitting oxygento pass therethrough.

The face mask portion of the invention consists essentially ofthe bellows-like member 21 having an enlarged end 22 ofa diameter corresponding to that of housing 18 and attached thereto, and a reduced end 23 of asize appropriate for use as a face mask. The bellows member 21 tapers from end 22 to end 23 in cross-sectional size, and in this way, when compressed for storage, it occupies a very much smaller space than if the bellows folds fell one on top of the other. It will be noted that when made of this construction, the member 21 may readily be formed by, for example, below moulding" techniquesat very low cost. When used in the embodiment of FIG. 1 and 2, openings will be cut both at end 22 and end 23 since, in the below moulding process, both ends would normally be completely sealed. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the larger end 22 will be left sealed for reasons to be described below.

At the reduced end 23 of member 21, a resilient padded disc 24 is attached, preferably formed, for example, of flexible foam plastic or foam rubber, and having a mouth-opening 25 cut therein to accommodate the mouth and nose of a patient. Within member 21 there is provided a recessed partition member 26 formed of moulded plastic and having a moulded plastic socket 27 formed therein, to permit flow of oxygen therethrough. In addition, a plurality of perforations or small passageways 28 are formed in partition 26 and provided with a flexible thin rubber diaphragm 29 on the inner side thereof to provide a one-way valve action. I

In order to extend the bellows member 21, a spring 30 is provided extending between closer member 19 and partition member 26.

A cord 31 is attached to looped portions 16 of capillary tube 14 and extends within member 21 and passes through socket 27. A ring 32 is attached to the free end of cord 31 for pulling the same to break capillary tube 14.

A cover portion 33 having an inwardly directed peripheral lip 34 thereon is provided to make snap engagement with plastic housing 18 and hold bellows member 21 in its collapsed, compressed condition.

With particular reference to FIG. 4, it will be noted that this is a greatly enlarged sectional illustration of pipe 13 and capillary tube 14. It will be noted that capillary tube 14 where it extends outwardly from pipe 13 is contained within an outer sleeve 35 the function of which is to protect and strengthen capillary tube 14 which might outherwise become accidentally flattened or cracked during assembly. Capillary tube 14 extends within pipe 13 and is formed into an elongated tight coil 36. The purpose of capillary tube 14, which may be in the region of from one to four-thousandths of an inch internal diameter, is to provide a metered flow rate of gas escaping from vessel which is not of massive construction, and also which, being contained within pipe 13, is not subjected to the pressure difference stressing the vessel 10 and pipe 13. However, as is well known, if there is any moisture present in the oxygen or other gas compressed within the vessel 10, and that gas is then permitted to pass through a very fine orifice, the orifice will tend to become blocked with frozen particles and will eventually ice-up completely. It has been found that this problem can be overcome by providing a considerable length of capillary tube 14 wound into tight coils 36 as shown and located within pipe 13. In this way, the bore of capillary tube 14 can be slightly enlarged, that is to say it can be made slightly larger than the size of a mere orifice which would provide the equivalant flow rate. In addition, it is found that there is considerably less tendency for the very fine passage way defined by capillary tube 14 to become iced up, because the heat stored within the walls of capillary tube 14, and the very efficient transfer of heat from its surroundings, due to the very thin walls of tube 14, make it much more difficult for local cold spots to develop at which ice particles will accumulate. This function of what may be termed a reverse heat sink is of course greatly enhanced where capillary tube 14 is made of copper. The tight coil 36 of capillary tube 14 by forcing the high pressure gas to follow a tortuous path provides a labyrinth which considerably slows down the rate of flow, and the combination of this effect with the heat exchange effect, provide a very satisfactory answer to the problem of icing up, which of course is greatly aggravated by the very high pressures stored within vessel 10.

According to a further embodiment of the invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention may be further modified as shown in FIG. 3, by the addition of an on/off control valve indicated by the general reference 40. ln this case, the capillary tube 14 is connected directly to the body 41 of valve 40, and the capillary tube 14 is left unsealed, the pressure being held by means of any suitable needle valve mechanism (not shown) contained within body 41 of valve 40. A gas outlet hole 42 is drilled in body 41 to permit escape of gas into the interior of housing 18 from where it will pass through openings 20 into bellows member 21. Body portion 41 is arranged to extend transversely through one side of housing 18 and is provided with a handle 43 for switching the same on and off.

According to a further embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5, the bellows member 21 with minor modifications may be employed in association with a separate oxygen source both as a breathing mask and also as a bellows pump for use as a resuscitator.

In this further embodiment, bellows member 21 is of identical construction to the bellows member shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the exception that the larger end 22 is left closed, and spring 30 bears against the interior of the closed end 22. The other features of bellows member 21 as described in FIGS. 1 and 2 are identical, that is to say it is provided with a smaller end 23 opened and provided with a foam plastic face piece 24 and with an interior partition 26 having a socket 27 and a oneway inlet 28 therethrough.

The only addition to these features, is the provision of a socket 45 formed in the side of bellows member 21 adjacent to closed end 22 for connection to a source of oxygen, indicated generally as the reference S. It will be understood that the oxygen source S may simply be any form of pressure vessel having suitable outlet and flow control valves (not shown). However, one particularly preferred form of oxygen source is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 618,636, filed Feb. 27, I967, now US. Pat. No. 3,502,075 and assigned to Therapeutic Research Corporation Limited.

When using this form of the invention, a flexible hose 46 is connected between source S of oxygen and socket 45. Oxygen will be supplied continuously at substantially atmospheric pressure to the interior of bellows member 21. From there, oxygen will flow continuously through socket 27 for breathing where a simple inhalator function is required. When a resuscitator action is required, then a separate oxygen mask of any suitable design indicated as 47 may be connected to socket 27 by a further hose 48. The bellows member 21 may then be placed on any suitable secure surface, and hand pressure is applied to the smaller end 23 to compress the bellows. Such compression will force oxygen through socket 27 and into mask 47 at a somewhat elevated pressure. lt will be understood that when hand pressure is removed from such smaller end 23, the spring within the bellows will cause rapid recovery of the bellows to their original shape. Such recovery will probably take place at a greater rate than the incoming low pressure Oxygen can effectively replace. As a result, a somewhat reduced pressure will momentarily occur within the bellows member 21, and such reduced pressure will cause atmospheric air to be drawn into the interior of such bellows member 21 through the one-way inlet valve 28, until a pressure equilibrium is reached. ln this way, upon the next downward stroke of bellows 21, under hand pressure, a mixture of air and oxygen will be delivered into mask 47 to the patient. Such a mixture is generally to be preferred rather than delivering pure oxygen for any length of time to an unconscious patient, and it is intended that this mixing effect will take place continuously, both for the beneficial effect on the patient, and also because it will reduce the volume of oxygen being consumed. in this way, a high pressure source of oxygen, which may for example have a rated capacity equal to continuous delivery of low pressure oxygen for about minutes or so, to in fact last for two or three times that length of time. An additional benefit which occurs from the use of the invention, is that if and when the supply of oxygen becomes exhausted, the bellows member 21 will continue to be fully effective for the purposes of delivering pure atmospheric air for resuscitation purposes without any change in the apparatus whatever, atmospheric air being alternately drawn in through inlet valve 28 and forced upwardly through socket 27 into mask 47. in this way, it is possible with no changes in the apparatus what- As stated above, the only change in the bellows member 21 for use in this way, is that the larger end 22 is left sealed. As stated, this is in any event a necessary result of the most economical mode of manufacturing bellows member 21, namely plastic blow moulding, which would in fact normally leave both ends 22 and 23 closed. Thus, in the manufacturing of the modified form of bellows member 21, all that is required is to omit one step in the manufacture, namely the removal of the larger end 22. it will be understood that this modified form of bellows member 21, is nonetheless entirely suitable as an emergency oxygen mask in itself, notwithstanding such modification. in this way, the oxygen source S is connected to bellows member 21 by means of socket 45 precisely as described above. However, the additional conventional mask 47 and hose 48 is omitted, and the face mask constituted by the added disk 24 at the smaller end 23 of bellows member 21 is applied to the face of the patient. in this case, if necessary, an assistant can apply manual pressure to the larger end 22 of bellows member 21 thereby forcing some oxygen into the lungs ofthe patient. As handpressure is reli eved, so alsois pressure relieved as between the padded disc 24 and the face of the patient. Thus, fresh atmospheric air can enter around padded disc 24 and through inlet valve 28. Alternatively, if the assistant holds padded disc 24 firmly in contact with the face of the patient, then a suction effect can be applied to the lungs ofthe patient as hand pressure is removed from large end 22, bellows member 21, thereby assisting in the resuscitation effeet.

It will therefore be seen that by the practice of the invention, a combined breathing mask and low pressure gas accumulator may be provided having many different uses, and being applicable with only minor modifications either to a small emergency oxygen inhalator, or to a larger professional care unit at a low cost and with a high degree of reliability and effectiveness.

The foregoing description ofa preferred embodiment of the invention is given here by way of example only.

lclaim:

I. A portable oxygen mask assembly having both resuscitator and inhalator capability, and comprising:

a long tubular pressure vessel wound upon itself for containing oxygen gas under high pressure;

manually operably gas release means connected to said vessel for permitting the discharge of gas therefrom;

housing means for said pressure vessel, said gas release means discharging into said housing means;

a compressible container of generally tubular construction for accumulating gas at lower pressures, discharged from said gas release means;

concertina folds formed in side walls of said container around a central axis of said container whereby to lie flat one over the other when folded and compressed and to permit said container to be extended for a pumping action, said container being attached around one end thereof to said housing;

opening means at one end of said container communicating between said housing and said compressible container permitting gas discharged by said gas release means to pass into and fill said container;

face mask means arranged around the other end of said container;

partition means separating said mask means from the interior of said container;

outlet means in said partition means for continuous flow of gas through said partition means to said mask means;

spring means within said container arranged to normally extend the same, and being compressible to permit said container to be collapsed; and

removable cover means for said housing shaped and dimensioned to fit over said mask means and said container when in its compressed condition and retain same to form a substantially closed package together with said housing.

2. A portable oxygen mask assembly as claimed in claim 1 including one way air inlet valve means in said partition means communicating between the exterior and the interior of said container whereby to permit mixing ofair and gas therein.

3. A portable oxygen mask assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said concertina folds are formed in said container around a central axis thereof, said folds being of a continuously decreasing size among a major portion of the length of said container whereby to provide an overall generally frustotube of breakable material, and includinga sealed end on the free end of said tube normally retaining said gas therein under high pressure, and a reduced neck adjacent said sealed end, and manually operable means attached to said sealed end for manually moving the same and causing the same to break at said reduced neck thereby permitting flow of gas therefrom into said container.

6. A portable oxygen mask assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing is formed around said tubular pressure vessel and enclosing the same on at least three sides thereof leaving one side thereofopen; means attaching one end of said compressible container around said open side of said housing, restricted orifice means located within a portion of said tubular pressure vessel, and communicating with the interior thereof; tubular conduit means extending from said orifice means exteriorally of said tubular pressure vessel thereby establishing a gas flow outlet path through said orifice means, the outer end of said tubular conduit means being located to deliver gas from said tubular pressure vessel to said compressible container.

7. A portable oxygen mask assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing is formed around said tubular pressure vessel and encloses the same on at least three sides thereof leaving one side thereofopen; means attaching one end of said compressible container around said open side of said housing; a closure member for said open side of said housing extending thereacross and separating said container from the interior of said housing; opening means through said closure member for passage of gas therethrough; manually operable valve means connected to said tubular pressure vessel, and operable to release gas therefrom slowly, said valve means being located within said housing, and discharging said gas into said housing for passage through said opening means in said housing closure member, and, valve handle means extending outwardly from said housing for manual operation of said valve means.

8. A portable oxygen mask assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said concertina folds are formed in said container around a central axis thereof, said folds being of a continuously decreasing size along a major portion of the length of said container, the largest said fold being at that end of said container adjacent said housing, and decreasing in size towards the opposite end of said container, and concertina folds formed in the remaining minor portion of said container, adjacent said outer end, to define the face mask portion of said container; said partition means being of generally well shaped construction and fastened within said container at approximately the transition between said major portion and said minor portion thereof, and, a soft flexible face engaging member attached around said outer end of said container, and defining an opening therethrough for reception of the nose and mouth ofa user. 

